STEELWRIST is set to mark 20 years in business this year with the introduction of several new products.
The tiltrotator manufacturer was founded in Sweden in 2005, starting life as a shop in a garage north of Stockholm. The company has grown exponentially and today has thousands of customers worldwide.
Two decades on, Steelwrist said the focus remains the same as when the company was founded: to develop, manufacture and sell tiltrotators, quick couplers and work tools that make excavators more efficient.
Steelwrist introduced its first tiltrotator, the X18, in 2006, and the early years saw an expansion of the sales organisation to the Nordic countries and the UK. A milestone was reached in 2011 when the company launched the X07 model for compact excavators – the world’s first fully steel cast tiltrotator. The use of high-tensile steel casting has been a cornerstone in the design of the couplers and tiltrotators ever since.
In 2012, Steelwrist launched the patented Front Pin Lock in its couplers, described as ‘setting a new standard’ for operational safety.
Today, Steelwrist offers a tiltrotator range weighing from 1.5 to 33 tonnes. Last year, the third-generation tiltrotators were launched, marking a ‘major advancement’ in the technology. The XTR20 features steel cast components throughout, including the upper coupler, gearbox, and the lower coupler beneath the tiltrotator. Maintenance and lubrication have been made easier with the introduction of OptiLube, a built-in onboard system for automatic lubrication. The XTR20 features Steelwrist’s patented wireless LockSense technology – a sensor-based system that provides real-time confirmation of whether the work tool is securely locked during coupling.
Steelwrist expanded into the North American market in 2017, where the tiltrotator concept has gained significant traction. To support demand, Steelwrist relocated to larger facilities in Newington, CT, in 2024. Meanwhile, interest in tiltrotators is said to be steadily increasing in the Asia-Pacific region.
“During my 20 years developing our Steelwrist product portfolio we have continuously been at the forefront of our industry,” said Markus Nilsson, CTO and co-founder of Steelwrist. “Our innovations have resulted in products that are safer and more productive for the excavator operator.
“With a combined focus on hardware as well as software we have made the tiltrotator become an integrated part of the excavator. I look forward to 2025 with confidence, presenting our latest developments.”
The new tiltrotators, as well as all other Steelwrist products, are available with interfaces following the symmetrical standard (S standard). Thanks to their modular design, products can be upgraded from the S-type to the SQ-type interface. Introduced in 2017, Steelwrist’s SQ technology enables operators to switch between hydraulic-powered work tools in seconds, without leaving the cab.
In the process of developing the SQ products, the idea of presenting an open interface for automatic quick couplers was born. The advantage of avoiding a proprietary solution means customers aren’t tied to a single manufacturer’s system. This became a reality at the end of 2020 when Steelwrist and Rototilt founded the Open-S Alliance, an independent organisation dedicated to developing a global industry standard for automatic couplers for excavators. Today the organisation has 14 members.
This year, Steelwrist is set to launch several new products. The XTR20 will be followed by two new models, the XTR15 and the XTR23, within the third generation of tiltrotators.
Steelwrist will also extend its SQ technology to excavators below six tonnes with the introduction of the SQ40 coupler. This ‘quick and effortless’ changes of high-flow-powered work tools for smaller excavators. The SQ40 will be complemented by a range of powered work tools specifically optimised for this interface.
All new products will be shown at bauma in April.
“I am extremely proud of what our team has accomplished since Steelwrist was founded, and the 20-year anniversary will be highlighted throughout 2025,” added Stefan Stockhaus, CEO and co-founder of Steelwrist. “I have myself been running the SQ40 size for over a year on my own excavator and I am really looking forward to presenting the SQ40 solution which will bring efficiency to new levels also for the smaller excavators.”
